Texas A&M football: Can Aggies break their record for players drafted?

Texas A&M football is guaranteed to have one of their biggest years ever in terms of players drafted, but can they set the school record?

The NFL Draft has taken place since 1936 and Texas A&M football has had at least one player drafted in just about every single one. The exception being 1936-37, 1962, 1965, 1974, and 2007. The Aggies have sent a ton of players to NFL of late and there are plenty of them to currently cheer for on Sundays.

But will the 2019 NFL Draft beat the record for most Aggies selected?

There have been a few good years for Texas A&M players going into the NFL. Twice they’ve had seven players draft (1941, 1991), three times they had eight players drafted (1987, 1990, 1992), once they had nine players drafted (1969), and the school record for players taken in the NFL Draft is 10 in 1976.

For what it’s worth, the record for players taken in a single draft from the same school is 12, which Alabama set last season after winning a national championship.

You might be scoffing at the idea the Aggies could even approach that number going 8-5 in 2017 and 9-4 in 2018, but how close could they get to 11 players drafted?

There seems to be a consensus they’ll have around eight. Jace Sternberger, Erik McCoy, Trayveon Williams, Tyrel Dodson, Otaro Alaka, Daylon Mack, Kingsley Keke and Donovan Wilson were all invited to the NFL Combine, which invites around 300 players to test and interview in front of NFL scouts.

If you get the invite, chances are you’ll be drafted.

However, there are a couple of other players that may hear their name called. Keaton Sutherland was invited to the East/West Shrine Game and was impressive at Texas A&M’s Pro Day. Teams may like him due to his versatility.

Landis Durham is a year removed from leading the SEC in sacks and has a relentless motor teams in the later rounds could use as reason to take a flyer on him. DeShawn Capers-Smith doesn’t have a ton of draft buzz but he did participate in the Pro Day so there’s a small chance he goes in the later rounds.

And wouldn’t it be something if the 12th and final selection of Aggies in the NFL Draft was none other than Cullen Gillaspia, the 12th Man himself?

Gillaspia made most of his impact on special teams until Fisher came to town. He was one of the fastest players with pads on and always gave everything he had. He ended up starting at fullback for Fisher and helped Williams set the school record for rushing yards in the process. He also did this.

https://twitter.com/SECNetwork/status/1079963046179672064

While there is absolutely a chance the number could be less than eight, the number invited to the NFL Combine, one can dream. Most of these players likely won’t get a call until Day 2 or 3, if at all. Here’s to hoping as many Ags as possible get the call over the weekend.

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